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Thursday, September 04, 2014

MANAGEMENT QUARREL THREATENS WACO'S AWARD WINNING BALCONES DISTILLERY

A dispute among top managers at the Balcones Distillery in Waco
- Texas, threatens to disrupt the operations of the award-winning whisky maker
and could jeopardize the funding of an ongoing expansion.Disagreements between Charles “Chip” Tate, president and
head distiller, and the young company’s board of managers have spilled from the
boardroom to the courtroom, with board members obtaining a temporary
restraining order to enforce its 90-day suspension of Tate, which was issued on
the 8th of August.

Balcones President and Head Distiller - Chip Tate

The board is seeking a temporary injunction against Tate, a
minority interest holder in the company, alleging Tate “has engaged in acts
harmful to Balcones.” A hearing in the case is set for September 18th.Documents filed in the conflict allege that Tate reportedly
threatened the life of board chairman Greg Allen, and suggest that he would
rather see the facility burn to the ground than be run by someone other than
himself.Peter Rusek, an attorney for Tate, declined to comment on
the ongoing litigation, as did Jeffrey Armstrong, who represents the board.Balcones was founded in 2008 and has since upgraded its
distillery to triple its production capacity after its brand quickly earned a
stellar reputation in the spirits world.The company announced last year that it was going to spend
more than $10 million to convert the historic Waco Fireproof Storage building into
its new headquarters, featuring a gift shop.Balcones’ products have garnered more than 60 medals for its
variety of spirits, including the 2012 World Whisky Distillery of the Year and
U.S. Craft Distillery of the Year at the inaugural Wizards of Whisky
competition and the 2014 Single Malt of the World Whisky of the Year by
London’s Wizards of Whisky.Board members allege in a court petition that Tate’s
“unconscionable and reprehensible” behaviour are jeopardizing the timing of the
expansion and its funding.“Despite a resolution by the board of his employer
suspending him and directing him not to engage in certain conduct, Tate has continued
to engage in conduct that has and will continue to damage Balcones,” According
to the petition filed by the board to secure a temporary restraining order
against Tate.Tate, according to court documents, said “I should have put
two in his chest,” referring to shooting Allen after their conversations about
Tate’s actions. Tate owns guns and kept them at his Balcones office, the
petition alleges.Also in connection to the parties’ disputes, Tate has made
statements pointing out how the distillery is full of combustible items and how
easy it would be for the distillery to be destroyed by a fire and that it would
be better for it to be destroyed than for anyone other than him to run it,” the
petition states.Filings by the distillery also indicate that Tate owes the
company $14,947 for personal charges he put on a company credit card and
refuses to repay.In issuing the temporary restraining order against Tate on
August the 22nd, State District Judge Gary Coley Jr. ordered Tate to refrain
from entering any of the Balcones facilities without making prior arrangements;
refrain from contacting Balcones’ employees or suppliers; refrain from
communicating with any person in the spirits industry or in the media about
Balcones or about his current assignment at Balcones; and refrain from using
company debit or credit cards or other company resources.Also, Tate is ordered to return to Balcones company
computers, phones, traveling cases and all files in his possession, and to
provide immediate access to and provide passwords for any of Balcones’ social
media accounts and to not post anything on those accounts.